Read on to learn more about verboten hip hop lore.

Despite Gucci's diplomatic answer, rap music, frequently awash in hyberbole, has a certain affinity for conspiracy theories. Within this article lies a list that contains theories, not theorists. Which means the rants of the likes of B.o.B and Chris Brown have been withheld. Read on to learn more about verboten lore that helps to keep hip hop a universe of mystery, suspicion, and sensationalism.

Jay Z is in the Illuminati

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How could a black man make it so far in society without pledging his soul to the devil? Jay Z’s massive fortune, famous Roc-a-Fella diamond, and union with Beyonce have convinced some that Hov is a member of the secret society running the world. Skeptical? Theorists point to symbolism embedded in various lyrics and videos -- “On to The Next One” in particular -- as evidence of Jay’s Illuminati ties.

Tupac is alive

There are numerous theories on the subject of Tupac’s death, none greater than the one that asserts that he is still alive. Despite five posthumous albums, this is wishful thinking.

Rumor has it Tupac discreetly found passage to Cuba after the Las Vegas shooting. TMZ “spotted” him on Bourbon Street in 2009. Donnell Rawlings (of Chappelle’s Show) alleges that he saw Tupac “on 46th Street selling Biggie T-shirts two for $10.”

Tupac’s first posthumous album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, was released two months after his death under the pseudonym Makaveli, a reference to Niccolo Machiavelli, the Renaissance philosopher whose works Tupac read while in prison. It is a common misconception that Machiavelli faked his own death or advocated that anyone do so, he is well-known for his belief in political deception.

The album’s cover art depicts Tupac as a black Jesus dying on the cross (soon the be resurrected). Additionally… “Makaveli” is an anagram of “Am alive. K.”

Theorists have also pointed to Tupac’s “Toss It Up” music video, which they claim depicts him wearing Penny Hardaway sneakers that had yet to be released when he was killed.

Suge Knight injected Eazy-E with AIDS

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The rapid deterioration of Eazy-E’s health and his resultant death in 1995 fueled speculation that someone intentionally injected the N.W.A. rapper with AIDS. Suge Knight emerged as the primary suspect when he made an unfortunate comment on Jimmy Kimmel Live! In 2003. “See, technology is so high, right? So if you shoot somebody, you’re going to jail forever,” he said. “So they got stuff where they get blood from somebody with AIDS, and they shoot you with it. So that’s a slow death—that Eazy-E thing.”

Eazy-E’s song Yung Eazy accused Knight of killing his father on Instagram and wrote that “his father’s death “never added up to what people have always said.”

Eazy’s protégé B.G. Knocc Out believes that he was murdered; Bone Thugs-n-Harmony have also asserted they they believe his death was the result of foul play: “I mean, me personally, I [agree with that theory] as well,” they said. “Even to this day, none of his kids, none of his baby mamas, his mistresses, nobody has come up with HIV or nothing like that. So just rationally thinking, something had to go on.. When you’re about to die from full-blown AIDS, you look like you’re gonna die from AIDS. I’ve seen people that have died from AIDS and they look like they have AIDS. Eazy didn’t look like that at all when he passed away. At all.”

The government killed Pimp C

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Pimp C was found dead in a hotel room on December 4, 2007. The cause of death: a combination of sleep apnea and an excess of cough syrup in his system.

Theorists believe that Pimp was murdered, pointing to the unusually calm 911 call placed by the woman who found his body and his change in mentality and music. after he was released from prison in early 2006. He gave an interview to OZone magazine disparaging homosexuals, an increasingly fake industry, and the city of Atlanta. Basically, some people think that he was killed because he was too woke.

The music industry created gangster rap to fill prisons

A internet page entitled "The Secret Meeting That Changed Rap Music and Destroyed a Generation" alleges that a “small group of music business insiders” gathered in a house on the outskirts of Los Angeles in 1991 to determine the future of hip hop music. A man explained that he had convened the meeting explained that the biggest companies in the music industry had invested millions in privately-owned prisons. The man argued that these business insiders should promote gangster rap as a means to promote criminal culture and funnel brainwashed American youth into these prisons.

The flattening nature of the internet brings these sensationalist tales to the fore and this story, of course, is just a story some internet dude wrote. Conspiracy theories are not exempt from the natural laws of clickbait.